| For Immediate Release:
August 27, 2013
Festival Contact:
Tatyana Chiocchetti
Tel: +1 786-390-4874
tatyana@miamifilmfestival.com
Miami International Film Festival, Produced and Presented by Miami Dade College, Unveils New Sponsor & New $35K Award for Encuentros Program
Cash Prize makes Miami’s Support for Latin American and US Hispanic Feature Film Projects
in Post-Production among the highest in the Industry
Miami, FL — Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), produced and presented by Miami Dade College (MDC), announced today that popular Latin American pay-TV network Moviecity has signed on as presenting sponsor of the 11th edition of its celebrated post-production development program, Miami Encuentros. The program, which will run during the Festival’s 2014 dates of March 7 – 16, will provide one grand prize winner a contract worth USD$35,000 cash.
“We are very happy to be working with Moviecity to give some of the year’s top-quality projects a platform and opportunity for a significant and substantial pre-sale, to successfully position their films for maximum success,” said MIFF executive director Jaie Laplante. “MIFF continues our commitment to support the filmmakers who will be providing us with the great art of tomorrow.”
The 2014 competition presented by Moviecity will provide for an exhibition agreement of a four-year exclusive pay TV contract in Latin American and Caribbean territories (excluding Brazil) executed between the network and the MIFF winning project, as selected by a jury of industry professionals. Upon execution of the contract, the producer will receive $35,000 in cash from Moviecity.
“At Moviecity, we are committed to the Latin American film industry by encouraging and fostering productions and filmmakers from across the region to continue producing and investing in local cinema. Since the launch of Moviecity Mundo, ‘a channel made for and by Latinos’, we have opened a new and unique window for the exhibition of local production across the households of millions of viewers in all the countries of Latin America,” commented Edgar Spielmann, President & CEO of Moviecity. In addition he added, “Film festivals like Miami International Film Festival support and strengthen the identity and culture of the Latin film industry. Therefore, Moviecity contributes by acquiring the rights of one of the participating projects in the Miami Encuentros, ensuring this way exclusive high quality content for our viewers.”
MIFF’s 2013 Encuentros winner, All About The Feathers (Por las plumas) from Costa Rican first-time feature director Neto Villalobos, received $10,000 cash in completion funds. The film will now have its World Premiere at next week’s Toronto International Film Festival, where it will be represented for worldwide sales by Urban Distribution International (UDI). UDI acquired the film after Head of Sales & Acquisitions, Eric Schnedecker, saw it at MIFF Encuentros, where he was part of the jury that awarded the prize to Villalobos.
“Since is nascence, MIFF Encuentros has endeavored to support new features from Latin America and to find new ways to increase the impact of those films,” said Toronto-based programmer Diana Sanchez, one of the world’s most influential experts on Latin American cinema, who will again curate MIFF Encuentros, which she created for MIFF in 2003. “This new partnership with Moviecity enables the program to do that and more – not only will the winning project receive financial support – they now have the guarantee that their film will be seen and Moviecity viewers will have the opportunity to discover the emerging talents that MIFF has been nurturing for many years.”
MIFF’s Encuentros annually supports the completion of a selection of Latin American and U.S. Hispanic feature film projects in post-production and propels them towards their debuts on the international stage. Submissions to Miami Encuentros presented by Moviecity are open to all feature films produced partially or entirely by Latin-American based production companies, or from US Hispanic filmmakers, that are currently in post-production and will not be completed by March 2014. The works must have a minimum running time of 60 minutes and maximum of 120 minutes and must be in the Spanish language and have at minimum temporary subtitles in English for the Encuentros screening; or, in the case of US Hispanic films that are in English, have at minimum temporary subtitles in Spanish for the Encuentros screening. Brazilian and Portuguese films in Portuguese are eligible to compete if the entry’s producers commit to covering the cost of subtitling the film in Spanish for final delivery to Moviecity should they be awarded the MIFF Encuentros presented by Moviecity grand prize; and provide a dialogue list for electronic subtitling to MIFF in addition to the film having at minimum temporary subtitles in English, for the Encuentros screening. Projects must be submitted no later than Friday, January 10, 2014.
Five (5) projects will be selected to be part of Miami Encuentros 2014 and will be announced in late February 2014. One main producer from each project will be invited to attend the Miami Encuentros screenings (open only to industry invitees) and outline the completion details for the film. The selected projects will be screened to a Jury comprised of members of distinction from the international film industry.
Entry forms and complete rules for the program are now available at http://www.miff2020.wpengine.com/industry/encuentros.aspx
MIFF’s Encuentros Program was created in 2003 to offer key development participation for noteworthy film projects from Spain and/or Latin America and U.S. Hispanic filmmakers in varying stages of completion in order to “match” them with financiers, sales agents, U.S. distributors and other professionals who would provide the critical financial and business support to ensure the films would reach completion and move on to the most advantageous sales channels strategies in multiple territories.
In the course of the last decade, Ibero-American films have become more and more popular across the globe. At the same time, Ibero-American countries have produced a significant number of talented filmmakers and producers. MIFF has been on the leading edge of this trend, successfully identifying and assisting more than 65 films, many of which have gone on to premiere and win awards at significant film festivals and from the Film Academies of their respective countries.
Examples of just some of the MIFF Encuentros success stories include:
2003: The Holy Girl (La niña santa) by Lucrecia Martel (Argentina) – World Premiere as Official Selection at 2004 Cannes Film Festival; screened at MIFF 2005; nominated for four Argentina Film Critics Association Awards.
2005: 7 Virgins (7 Virgenes) by Alberto Rodríguez (Spain) – World Premiere at 2005 Toronto International Film Festival; Won Best New Actor Goya Award and nominated for five other Goya awards; won Silver Seashell at 2005 San Sebastian Film Festival.
2005: Madeinusa by Claudia Llosa (Peru) – World Premiere at 2006 Sundance Film Festival; screened at MIFF 2006.
2005: Satanás by Andrés Baiz (Colombia) – World Premiere at MIFF 2007.
2007: Dog Eat Dog (Perro come perro) by Carlos Moreno (Colombia) – World Premiere at 2008 Sundance Film Festival; nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2008 Ariel and 2008 Goya Awards, and was Colombia’s official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 2009 Academy Awards.
2009: Jean Gentil by Laura Amelia Guzmán & Israel Cárdenas (Dominican Republic/Mexico) – World Premiere at 2010 Venice Film Festival and won Jordan Alexander Ressler Best Ibero-American Screenplay Award at 2011 Miami International Film Festival.
2010: The Invisible Eye (La mirada invisible) by Diego Lerman (Argentina) – World Premiere at 2010 Director’s Fortnight in Cannes; screened at MIFF 2011.
2010: Porfirio by Alejandro Landes (Colombia/Spain/Uruguay) – World Premiere at 2011 Director’s Fortnight in Cannes; screened at MIFF 2012.
2011: Pescador by Sebastián Cordero (Ecuador/Colombia) – Nominated for Knight Competition Grand Jury Prize at MIFF 2012; won Mayahuel Award for Best Actor and Director at Guadalajara Film Festival 2012.
2013: All About The Feathers (Por las plumas) by Neto Villalobos (Costa Rica) – World Premiere at 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.
Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), celebrating its 31st edition March 7 – 16, 2014, is considered the preeminent Ibero-American film festival in the U.S. The annual Festival, produced and presented by Miami Dade College, annually attracts more than 60,000 audience members and more than 300 filmmakers, producers, talent and industry professionals. It is the only major festival housed within a college or university. In the last five years, the Festival has screened films from more than 60 countries, including 300 World, International, North American, U.S. and East Coast Premieres. MIFF’s special focus on Ibero-American cinema has made the Festival a natural gateway for the discovery of new talent from this diverse territory. The Festival also offers unparalleled educational opportunities to film students and the community at large. Major sponsors of the 2014 Festival include Knight Foundation and Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. For more, visit miff2020.wpengine.com or call 305-237-MIFF (3456).
Miami Dade College has a long and rich history of involvement in the cultural arts, providing South Florida with a vast array of artistic and literary offerings, including Miami Book Fair International, Florida Center for the Literary Arts, MDC Live Arts performance series, MDCulture Art Cinema at Koubek Center, nine visual arts galleries including The Freedom Tower at Miami Dade College and the School of Entertainment and Design Technology, in addition to the renowned Miami International Film Festival. MDC is the largest institution of higher education in the country and is nationally recognized for many of its academic and cultural programs. With an enrollment of more than 175,000 students, MDC is the nation’s top producer of degrees. The college’s eight campuses and outreach centers offer nearly 300 distinct degree programs including several baccalaureate degrees. www.mdc.edu.
Moviecity, the best premium entertainment video experience in Latin America, property of Fox International Channels, 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures, presents the latest cinema releases, exclusive original first-run productions, series and events commercial-free. Its eight original brands: Moviecity Premieres, Moviecity Play, Moviecity Kids, Moviecity Action, Moviecity Family, Moviecity Mundo, Moviecity Classics and Moviecity Hollywood offer more than 2,000 contents every month. Each of these brands has a unique personality to meet the different preferences of all spectators at home. Moviecity offers high definition contents, exclusive 3D events and Moviecity Play, the on-demand service to enjoy the best contents whenever and wherever the viewer wants.
Additional MDC media contacts:
Tere Estorino Florin, director of media relations, 305-237-3949, testorin@mdc.edu
Sue Arrowsmith, 305-237-3710, sue.arrowsmith@mdc.edu
Alejandro Rios, 305-237-7482, arios1@mdc.edu
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